Max Verstappen and Lando Norris both showed signs of concern ahead of this weekend’s action at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

After nine drivers missed the first practice session, Verstappen led the way in the second part of Friday’s schedule as he finished 0.153 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Norris was fourth fastest in the session, while championship leader Oscar Piastri’s recent struggles continued as he finished down in 12th.

Verstappen is currently 40 points behind Piastri in the drivers’ championship, while Norris is 14 points off his McLaren team-mate.

And despite strong showings from both drivers on Friday, neither felt optimistic heading into the weekend.

“The short run on the soft we managed to do a good lap, everything else was pretty bad,” said Verstappen.

“On the medium [tyre], the short run was not great and the big problem was the long run, where we seemed to struggle a lot. That is a big concern for the race.

“The balance wasn't even off. There was just no grip. That is the bigger concern. So, as soon as you go into a sustainable run, the tyres are going hot, we were nowhere, so that is a tough one to sort out, but we'll see.

“You can be fast over one lap and if you have zero pace in the race then it is going to be very tough. I prefer to be fast in the race and not so fast over one lap.”

And the sun sets on FP2 in Mexico 

More laps, more learning, more confidence heading into Saturday  #F1 || #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/CwMCor2a30

— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) October 24, 2025

Norris, who finished 0.251 seconds behind Verstappen in second practice, added: “I got up to speed quite quickly, I was quite surprised.

“I found the limit quickly... but I found the limit quite quickly, which is just holding us back a bit.

“Not that it was a bad day, but normally we're very good on a Friday and then everyone catches up on Saturday.

“We are already a little bit behind so we have definitely some work to do tonight. The balance is a bit all over the place, same as the last few weeks. Single-lap stuff we're struggling a bit at the minute.”